


Interwoven

by masc_malfunction



Category: The Dragon Prince (Cartoon)
Genre: Hair Braiding, M/M, Non-Sexual Intimacy, Romance, Soft Husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-29
Updated: 2019-11-29
Packaged: 2021-02-17 21:49:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21600292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masc_malfunction/pseuds/masc_malfunction
Summary: “Runaan, wait.”“Hm?” Runaan paused, his eyes slightly wide in question.“Oh. I—” Ethari paused, his cheeks flushing lightly as he moved to sit beside his husband, his fingers reaching out to brush through the ends of Runaan’s hair. “Let me?”
Relationships: Runaan/Ethari, Runaan/Tinker | Necklace Elf (The Dragon Prince)
Comments: 13
Kudos: 342





	Interwoven

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Переплетенный](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25092124) by [filthymarina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/filthymarina/pseuds/filthymarina)



> (I think I used the appropriate existing tags for Ethari, but I'm honestly not too sure.)  
> This is my first work in a new fandom and those always make me a little nervous. But I'm so in love with these two, and I couldn't get this scenario out of my brain, it had to happen.
> 
> This fic has also been **translated into Russian!**

“Runaan?”

Runaan paused in his motion, vest halfway onto his shoulders, the gaze that met his husband’s in the mirror almost guilty.

“Go back to sleep, love,” he murmured, averting his eyes and flipping his hair outside his clothes with both hands. “It’s early.”

The unimpressed snort that drew from Ethari wasn’t unexpected, neither was the rustling of the blankets as Ethari slid off their bed to join him. He fixed Runaan with a hard stare, waiting silently until Runaan turned to him with a small sigh and bemused smile, resigning himself.

“You’re upset with me.”

“You’re damn right I am,” Ethari furrowed his brow, folding his arms across his chest. “You promised the sneaking off would stop.”

“I would have woken you before I’d gone,” Runaan protested, smoothing his hands over Ethari’s shoulders gently. “You know I would have.”

“You better,” Ethari huffed softly. “You would leave me no time to enchant your lily, if you had your way.”

Runaan laughed softly, shaking his head gently before pressing a chaste kiss to Ethari’s hair. “It isn’t that kind of mission, love. Just reconnaissance. I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.”

“They’re _all_ that kind of mission, Runaan.”

Ethari spoke softly, but it made Runaan take pause again. It wasn’t that he didn’t expect Ethari to worry. That was the reason he’d come up with the floating waterlilies in the first place; to help quell his worry. And Runaan wanted to make this easier for him, he truly did. He couldn’t imagine sitting at home, waiting with bated breath for a lily to sink underwater.

“I’ll come back, Ethari,” Runaan’s voice was quiet, but confident. Even though he knew he could never truly promise. He would still say it, every single time. Ethari was the only man who ever made Runaan feel as though he could maybe bend fate itself. He’d do all that and more, for Ethari’s sake. “You know I will.”

“You’d never break a promise,” Ethari whispered, smiling fondly as Runaan sat on the edge of their bed, drawing his hair over one shoulder. “Runaan, wait.”

“Hm?” Runaan paused, his eyes slightly wide in question.

“Oh. I—” Ethari paused, his cheeks flushing lightly as he moved to sit beside his husband, his fingers reaching out to brush through the ends of Runaan’s hair. “Let me?”

Runaan smiled warmly, letting his fingers slip through his hair until they could tangle with Ethari’s, squeezing his husband’s hand briefly.

“Of course, love.”

Ethari smiled radiantly, moving behind Runaan onto the bed and gathering long, silky hair into his hands. He started at Runaan’s scalp, right at the base of his horns, simply running his fingers through the strands. He would pause upon each knot, no matter how small, apologizing softly for every little tug as he smoothed the tangles from Runaan’s hair. Runaan could only smile at every apology; the thought of Ethari’s gentle hands hurting him was laughable, but it was so charmingly in his nature to be so concerned. Ethari’s fingers continued their repetitive path long after Runaan felt him untangle the last knot, brushing over his neck and shoulders every so often, with so light a hand it sent shivers over Runaan’s skin. It had crossed his mind that Ethari was drawing this out, but Runaan couldn’t find the will in himself to mention it. He’d awoken with plenty of time, after all. He let his eyes slip shut, the heavy line of his shoulders softening as he relaxed into Ethari’s touch.

When Ethari was finally satisfied, he drew himself up onto his knees, gentle fingers tracing over Runaan’s jaw and tilting his head backwards. Runaan cracked one eye open, his insides warming pleasantly when Ethari met his gaze with a small smile and a light kiss against his forehead.

Ethari’s lips were quickly replaced by his fingers, combing through his hair once again, drawing it away from Runaan’s face and back between his horns. He gently guided Runaan’s head back upright, taking care in separating the shorter layers of Runaan’s hair and resting them over his shoulders to frame his face. He gathered sections of hair from just behind either ear, deftly folding them into a short plait down the center of Runaan’s shoulders. He leaned forward, his chest pressing comfortably against Runaan’s back as he reached for the thick silver band Runaan used to hold his hair. He threaded Runaan’s hair through it, marrying the ends of the plait with the remainder of his hair, letting it lie gently between Runaan’s shoulder blades.

Runaan opened his eyes again as he felt the bed shift with Ethari’s movement, raising an eyebrow as his husband moved to kneel down before him.

“Finished?” he murmured, reaching a hand out to gently trace over the line of Ethari’s jaw.

“Almost,” Ethari smiled, opening his hand to reveal two smaller silver bands in his palm. “Just these.”

“Ah. Of course,” Runaan laughed softly, feeling his own cheeks grow warm with the realization that he had been so wrapped up in Ethari’s attentions that he had forgotten his own hairstyle. “Couldn’t go without that.”

Ethari’s answering laugh was light and easy, and he made quick work of the hair on Runaan’s left; slipping the band around his hair so it hung level with his chin. He took more care on the right, his expressing slipping into one of concentration as he carefully measured the distance with his eyes, making certain his handiwork hung evenly on both sides.

“Always the craftsman,” Runaan teased lightly, needing only to barely lean forward in order to press a kiss to Ethari’s nose. “Am I presentable?”

Ethari wrinkled his nose in response to either the kiss or the tease, Runaan couldn’t be too sure. But that gave way to a crooked smile, unabashed in its affection.

“You’re beautiful, my love.”

Runaan brought a hand to Ethari’s chin, fingers gently guiding him into a soft, sweet kiss.

“Thank you,” Runaan brushed his thumb lightly over Ethari’s cheek, before moving to stand. He let out a soft sigh as he reached for his gloves, unable to ignore the signs of worry Ethari was valiantly attempting to prevent from creeping back into his expression.

Once fully dressed, Runaan paused after picking up his weapon.

“Ethari.”

“Yes?” Ethari looked up from where he had been twisting their bedsheets between his fingers, his eyes wide.

“You haven’t dressed,” Runaan spoke softly, his back to his husband as he slung his quiver over his shoulder. “You can’t mean to keep me here past my schedule.”

“Dressed?” Ethari blinked rapidly, his brow furrowing. “But I—”

“Of course,” Runaan glanced over his shoulder now, offering his husband a small smile. “If we leave now, we’ll have time to enchant my lily before we say our goodbyes.”

Realization downed onto Ethari’s face before he broke into a wide smile, and he quickly crossed the room to change into his clothing. Once dressed, he reached into a small chest on his bedside table, lifting out the waterlily he had crafted so long ago, linking his free hand with Runaan’s.

“Thank you.”

Runaan smiled softly, bringing his husband’s hand to his lips gently. “Anything for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly thank you to TDP for pulling me out of a several month long writer's block. I hope you enjoyed! Your thoughts and comments make my day <3


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